Norms Of Usage Research Articles

Cantonese as written standard?

“Standard language” status is a relative construct defined by a variety of attributes rather than by any single criteria. This paper uses the taxonomy of standard language attributes presented in Downes 1998 as a framework for examining the degree to which written Cantonese, particularly in Hong Kong, has developed attributes of a standard language. In particular, it is argued that written Cantonese has gained a degree of autonomy from Standard Written Chinese, that the Cantonese speech community has clear usage norms regarding how spoken Cantonese words should be represented in writing, that written Cantonese is functionally elaborated in the sense that users have little difficulty with lack of vocabulary for technical or academic concepts, that written Cantonese plays a growing social role in Hong Kong, and that its level of prestige is increasing. The paper concludes that while written Cantonese does not have all the attributes associated with standard languages, it has developed a significant number of these attributes to a significant degree, and that the growing role of written Cantonese is an important indicator of the degree to which Cantonese is taking on a regional standard role in China.

When and where we enter

This article concerns the place of race and social class in establishing norms of usage in the study of language and gender. It argues for descriptions of women’s language that incorporate their multilayered race and class realities. In particular, it argues that notions of ‘normal women’s speech’ are often unmarked regarding race and class. These norms contribute to stereotypes of the speech of black and working class women. It asks the questions: How do we develop a method of analysis that represents social and cultural context, includes most women’s experience and desire, does not favor the western middle class woman, and critiques patriarchy and social class biases? Can we address intersectionality, where race, class, sexuality and gender interrelate for some women and do not act as independent forms of oppression? Is it possible to do language and gender research that does not privilege one group of women?

Collocations et dictionnaires d'apprentissage onomasiologiques bilingues : questions aux théoriciens et pistes pour l'avenir

This article discusses collocation from the perspective of the foreign language learner and the pedagogical lexicographer. The author starts by pointing out a number of difficulties inherent in current definitions of collocation, such as the alleged binary character of collocations and the alleged differences in semantic weight between collocational constituents. He proceeds to discuss collocation between semantic features. This leads to suggestions for a new division of the collocational spectrum and for a revised definition of ‘collocation’ based on the notions of ‘usage norm’ and ‘holisticity’. The author then examines how collocations can be adequately represented in bilingual onomasiological dictionaries or ‘vocabulary books’. It is found that an onomasiological approach to dictionary making is better suited to this task than a semasiological, framework-based methodology whereby individual lexicographers work on small, alphabetically classified sections of the dictionary.

Reflections on World Englishes

The journal World Englishes has become one of the most highly regarded publications . . . : the acronym WE itself symbolizes the inclusiveness. The pluralization of the word English by adding the suffix -es symbolizes the model. In my estimation, the impact of WE has created a new field of language research: the linguistic, socio-cultural, and pedagogical dimensions of the worldwide spread of English. The longstanding tradition in English linguistics was to regard only the use and usage of ‘‘native’’ speakers of English as the legitimate subject for description of the language. When studied at all, ‘‘non-native’’ speakers’ divergences from ‘‘native’’ speakers’ norms for usage were universally viewed as deficient approximation of those norms, useful only for analyzing processes of second-language acquisition and for developing teaching strategies to overcome these deficiencies. The WE paradigm has challenged this tradition by defining and establishing a more realistic theoretical perspective in which ‘‘non-native’’ varieties of English are accorded a significance equal to that of the ‘‘native’’ speaker varieties. The concepts of world Englishes and the Three Circles of English have created a new paradigm of the kind that Kuhn (1970) has pointed out in his treatise on the structure of scientific revolutions. World Englishes has had a monumental impact on the study of English and the entire field of applied linguistics. In the application of linguistic theory, WE has provided crucial insights to the fields of language policy and language planning. The primary contribution of WE has been to demonstrate unequivocally that these contexts rather than any panel or authority, appointed or self-proclaimed, define the functional adequacy and necessity of all formal features in a language variety.

Collocation, Colligation and Encoding Dictionaries. Part I: Lexicological Aspects

This article attempts to synthesise recent advances in collocational theory into a coherent framework for lexicological theory and lexicographic practice. By posing a number of fundamental questions related to the definition of collocation, it critically reviews frequency-based, semantic and pragmatic approaches to collocation. It is found, among other things, that two types of collocation, namely ‘long-distance’ collocation and collocation between semantic features, have suffered almost total neglect. This leads to suggestions for a new division of the collocational spectrum and for a revised definition of ‘collocation’ based on the notions of ‘usage norm’ (Steyer 2000) and ‘holisticity’ (Siepmann 2003). It is argued that this new view of collocation considerably widens the dictionary maker's brief, since future lexicography will have to provide a full account of both structurally simple and structurally complex units, including fixed expressions of regular syntactic-semantic composition (see Part II of this article, to be published in the March issue of this journal).

Toi et moi : Les pronoms personnels et la traduction

<titre/>The translation of personal pronouns is fairly straightforward. However, sometimes difficulties arise when the source language and the target language do not have the same subcategories. Examples taken from the subcategories of number and gender illustrate the problems that are more frequent when the target language is the more differentiated of the two. The most tricky area is that of register and style, which includes the opposition of formal versus familiar. Norms of standard usage are more subject to change and allow for more individual freedom than number and gender.

On the nature of isolated and post‐isolated dialects: Innovation, variation and differentiation

The investigation of two historically isolated communities in the United States, Smith Island, Maryland, and the Lumbee Native American community in Robeson County, North Carolina, demonstrates that, contrary to assumption, isolated communities may be linguistically innovative and heterogeneous. Explanations are both cognitive and social. Speakers in isolated communities are not subject to the leveling pressure that comes with exposure to heterogeneous usage norms and so are free to retain intra‐dialectal variation and carry through internal innovations. In addition, the close‐knit networks that characterize isolated communities allow for the transmission of intricate patterns of intra‐community variation, while the inward focus of such communities heightens the social semiotic importance of this variation. The present study also shows that as communities emerge from historic isolation, they do not necessarily succumb to leveling pressure. Instead, speakers’ desire to retain cultural distinctiveness may enable them to retain and even enhance their linguistic distinctiveness.

Biçim Ağırlıklı Metinlerde Çeviri Sorunsalı Üzerine: Ferit Edgü'nün Hakkari'de Bir Mevsimi ve Türkçe'deki Ortaçların Almanca'ya Çevirisi

The German translation of Ferit Edgu's novel entitled A Season in Hakkari (translated by Sezer Duru) has been examined in a comparative study in terms of its grammatical structure and semantics, as well as its formal and stylistic equivalence. Here, a transnational problem which has manifested itself at the application level will be discussed and analysed within a theoretical frame. It has been asserted in accordance with the conclusions reached in the reproductive application level aimed at exploring the way of the studied translation that, since this level handles the texts in the context of their literary qualities, approved hermeneutic reception and textual analysis, even if they are intuitive in a recursive translation of the aesthetic whole, cannot prevent a translator who relies on the usage norms of the aimed language. In other words, it has been revealed that this starting point cannot ensure preserving the work-specific poetic/formal aesthetic quality. This situation has not primarily shown its text-context, formal-aesthetic equivalents in relative clauses but in participle structures in Turkish, which are in the form of participle structure whose usages in the aimed language are less common. An analysis based on these formal elements, partly based on the text analysis technique of Russian Formalism, facilitated the translator's objective approach to the question of equality and the search for a subjective-creative solution independent of the established dialects of communication. In this context, although the method of textual analysis of the Russian Forms is not part of the tradition of scientific interpretation, it can be considered a position that holds importance in addressing aspects of the original and untranslated text.

Standards? Dictionaries and their Development in Second Language Learning Contexts

This paper focuses on ‘English’ dictionaries and their development in second language learning contexts, taking the perspective that ‘standards’ are usually codified in reference grammars, pronouncing dictionaries and word dictionaries. It begins with a presentation of contemporary discussions of ‘English’ and ‘Englishes’ in Asia, a phenomenon that has come about through the global spread of what is now a truly universal language. With the second diaspora of English (Kachru, 1992), many of the educational institutions in Asia are beginning to feel the tension between rigid and loose canons, and between traditional and emerging norms of language usage. In English as an additional language learning communities, lexical innovation is evident in new canons, and in primary sources of data such as newspapers. How do dictionaries handle such innovations, and become themselves a secondary source? The question may not be an easy one to answer but the discussion leading to it may herald a new dawn in dictionary‐making in Asia.

Hearing protection in everyday practice—The gap between expert knowledge and the beliefs of the users

Many well-informed workers do not use hearing protectors (HPs) as they are taught to. Also, there are differences between what workers know, believe, and do. HPs are used whenever ‘‘necessary’’ and taken off when ‘‘the noise levels are low.’’ Workers know when the noise is measured at their workplace. However, when there is no feedback from these measurements, the noise levels will be regarded as being ‘‘all right.’’ Based upon their own noise rating scale, workers create their own norms for HP usage. By regarding their hearing as normal, even when they know their hearing is impaired, there is no incentive to use HP more often. The great disparity between the knowledge of the experts and the way workers use HP shows that the awareness of damage risk is low. Adaptation to noise and to hearing disability is tremendous! Thus, HP usage is determined by the worker’s own noise rating scale, by exchange of opinions between workers, and by their belief of having normal hearing, rather than by the objective noise measurements, information about the need of hearing protection and audiograms. Therefore, the hearing conservation procedures must be renewed according to modern pedagogic principles starting from the perspective of the users, not the experts.

Dialect contact and koineization in Jakarta, Indonesia

The Indonesian spoken on a daily basis in Jakarta, the national capital, shows considerable divergence from Standard Indonesian as it has been codified by the Centre of Language Development. A regional dialect appears to be developing, resulting from contact between superposed Standard Indonesian and a number of regional varieties. This paper documents one part of this development, the interaction of Standard Indonesian and the native Jakartan variety, Betawi. An analysis of verb morphology, and the effect of register shift on its use, show that a process of koineization has taken place, and that Jakarta Indonesian is crystallizing into a separate variety of Indonesian, a nativized koine, with fixed norms of usage.

Morpho-syntactic expansions as structural changes in translation

Due to differences in the source language (SL) and target language (TL) systems and differences in SL and TL usage norms, as well as some other factors related to the SL text, the translator and the receiver of the TL text, original structures often undergo structural changes in the process of translation.

La transmission des codes sociaux dans l'espace scolaire en Espagne au XIXe siècle

In Spain, since the end of the eighteenth century, there had been an increase in the nwnber of the Etiquette Books (manuales de urbanidad) simultaneously with the introduction and the (quite relative) generalization of the school pattern used as the child socialization space. Hence the quantitative importance of School Etiquette books compared with other Courtesy and Good Manners Treatises, particulary in the nineteenth century. In those books the children of school age could learn the essential norms of social usage, the codes, values, behaviours, and courses of action which were specific to the model of "civilized" man or woman the upper classes intended to diffuse to establish their power.

Why English definitions should begin with articles in ISO terminology standards

ISO 10241:1992 ("International Terminology Standards — Preparation and Layout") is a basic standard which prescribes a uniform method for drafting the standard glossaries known as ISO terminology standards. Among other problems with ISO 10241 is a clause which generally prohibits the use of articles at the beginning of definitions. Here I shall identify two specific reasons why English definitions should begin with articles. They are the enormous precedent for this practice throughout the English language and the semantic precision that is lost when articles are missing. I maintain that there is no place in ISO for a rule that forces English or any other language into violation of its semantic precision and norms of usage.

Tense and aspect in the news discourse of Nepali English

ABSTRACT: This paper presents an analysis of tense and aspect variation in the news discourse of Nepali English. It takes the position that institutionalized non‐native varieties of English employ local norms of usage which are available for linguistic analysis. Nepali English news‐stories employ the pluperfect in some cases where NaE would use simple past. This pluperfect is used for backgrounding, interacting with other forms to provide textual coherence. It is bound to the news text's relevance structure, and signals information which is low in importance to the major topic of the article. The Nepali English pluperfect reflects a primary remoteness semantic while the native English pluperfect reflects a primary anteriority semantic.

Theorien vom Ursprung der Sprache Ed. by Werner Enninger, Joachim Raith, and Karl-Heinz Wandt (review)

650 LANGUAGE, VOLUME 67, NUMBER 3 (1991) a general linguistic audience are mixed with articles of interest for the specialist reader only. However, all the articles fit into the (probably too general) frame 'Writing system and orthography '. An unfortunate feature of the book is the absence of addresses and affiliations of the contributors. The editors' full addresses are given as Peking, China, and Kleve, Germany. [Jürgen Tesak, University of Freiburg.] Studies on the languages and the verbal behavior of the Pennsylvania Germans II. (Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik, Beiheft 64.) Ed. by Werner Enninger, Joachim Raith, and Karl-Heinz Wandt. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1989. Pp. 170. Paper DM 54.00. This is the second volume of a collection of essays, the earlier volume, edited by Werner Enninger alone, appeared in 1986 in the same series. In the preface to Vol. I Enninger states that, 'although the linguistic varieties of the Pennsylvania Germans are among the best-documented and most widely explored languages of all ethnic minorities in the United States, the picture is far from complete' (ix). He observes further that Pennsylvania German offers a particularly good model for the study of such phenomena as substratum interference of LI and L2, of borrowing from L2 into Ll, and of language decay and death. There have been numerous earlier publications on Pennsylvania German, and some contributors to this volume have published widely on this subject elsewhere. The present volume, as well as a number of others, have received their impetus from the Essen Delaware Amish Project Team. in this collection of eleven papers, some are markedly weaker either in style or in content. Jonathan Watt's 'Ll interference in written L2: A comparison between the Pennsylvania German and Koine Greek situations' (103-15) contributes little of importance regarding Pennsylvania German. Rudolf Post's 'The lexicography of Palatinate German: Its relevance for Pennsylvania German research' (71-9) reads very much like an oral presentation. Heinz Kloss' death obviously precluded a more polished version of 'Sociolinguistic parallels between the Mennonite speakers of Pennsylvania German (or Pennsylfaanisch) and of Plautdietsch ' (117-24). Of the remaining articles, I found three particularly interesting: John Costello's 'Innovations increasing syntactic complexity in the native language of bilingual children from 5 to 10: The case for Pennsylvania German' (3-16); Marion Lois Huffines' 'The convergence of language death: The case of Pennsylvania German ' (17-28); and 'Rules of speaking and their mediation: The case of the Old Order Amish' (137-68). by Werner Enninger. John A. Hostetler, Joachim Raith, and Karl-Heinz Wandt. Costello demonstrates that, influenced by English (L2). the Pennsylvania German (Ll) of children shows an increased complexity in syntax rather than simplification. He finds that these new structures seem to become permanent in the children's Ll and explains this by the fact that linguistic variation in Pennsylvania German is considered normal by speakers, so parents don't correct any 'innovations'. Their main concern seems to be that children learn the dominant language, English, well. Huffines argues that the Pennsylvania German community has two linguistic norms for case usage, one among nonsectarians and another among the Amish and Mennonites. Among the nonsectarians the dative is being maintained, but Pennsylvania German itself is dying Among the sectarians the dative has been lost—not necessarily due to a convergence towards English, but rather from an internal development similar to the one in some Low German varieties. The article by Enninger et al. tries, from an ethnography -of-communication point of view, to shed light on the speaking rules in an Old Order Amish context, and to illustrate 'that speaking is rule-governed but subject to culture-specific constraints' (166). Apart from a few typographical errors and a line of text missing on p. 77. this is a well-edited volume which is interesting because of its varied subject matter. Judging by the rate ofpublishing on the topic and the fact that this area of investigation is far from exhausted, we can expect further collections edited by one or all of the present editors. [Wolfgang P. Ahrens, York University, Toronto.] Theorien vom Ursprung der Sprache. 2 vols. Ed. by Joachim Gessinger and Wolfert von Rahden. Berlin...

Non-Native Varieties of English: Nativization, Norms, and Implications

Institutionalized “non-native” varieties of English have developed in countries such as Nigeria and India, where English is widely used as a second, often official, language in a broad range of intranational domains. These varieties are characterized by “nativization” (Kachru, 1981a): systematic changes in their formal features at all linguistic levels, which result from the use of English in new sociocultural settings, in contact with other languages, and in the absence of native speakers of English. This paper demonstrates how non-native varieties are distinct from interlanguages or approximative systems of “established” (Platt &amp; Weber, 1980) varieties of English (e.g., British or American). Crucial differences are illustrated in strategies common to both nativization and second language acquisition—generalization of rules in the established varieties of English and transfer of linguistic features from other languages—in terms of linguistic contexts in which they apply and motivations underlying their application. A survey of positive attitudes toward non-native varieties among their users indicates that certain nativized features are becoming new norms for English usage in many countries. These strategies of and attitudes toward nativization are shown to have important implications for the teaching of English as a second language and for linguistic theory.

We, they and us: A note on code-switching and stratification in North India

Gumperz (1976) claims that the direction of a code-switch provides important clues regarding the intended illocutionary force of an utterance and that oppositions like warning/personal appeal and casual remark/personal statement can be seen as metaphoric extensions of the we/they code opposition. “What at the societal level,” he observes, “are seen as norms of language usage or symbolic affirmations of ethnic boundaries are transformed here and built upon in conversation to affect the interpretation of speakers' intent and determine effectiveness in communication” (39–40). His hypothesis was corroborated by his Hindi-English bilingual speakers who felt that whereas a shift to the “they” code (English) suggested more of a threat, a shift to the “we” code (Hindi) signified more of a personal appeal. Code choice, according to Gumperz, is a device that determines the interpretation of an utterance (at least as far as its illocutionary force is concerned).

The Toronto Word Pool: Norms for imagery, concreteness, orthographic variables, and grammatical usage for 1,080 words

Imagery and concreteness norms and percentage noun usage were obtained on the 1,080 verbal items from the Toronto Word Pool. Imagery was defined as the rated ease with which a word aroused a mental image, and concreteness was defined in relation to level of abstraction. The degree to which a word was functionally a noun was estimated in a sentence generation task. The mean and standard deviation of the imagery and concreteness ratings for each item are reported together with letter and printed frequency counts for the words and indications of sex differences in the ratings. Additional data in the norms include a grammatical function code derived from dictionary definitions, a percent noun judgment, indexes of statistical approximation to English, and an orthographic neighbor ratio. Validity estimates for the imagery and concreteness ratings are derived from comparisons with scale values drawn from the Paivio, Yuille, and Madigan (1968) noun pool and the Toglia and Battig (1978) norms.

Testimony before the national commission of electronic fund transfers

Abstract : This report contains testimony given 27 October 1976. The author points out that the phrase 'EFT systems' is ill-defined. There are many such already in existence, including the automated clearing house, the cash terminal, and the point of sale terminal. Descriptive billing is a form of a EFT system; the national networks that are operated by organizations such as National Bank Americard are EFT systems. Each deals with payment exchange; each represents an implementation that depends very critically on electronics and computer technology. The authors main discussion is of what he calls 'the fully developed environment' in which the merchant and his bank plus the customer and his bank are electronically linked to complete a transaction. Systems of this kind are beginning to appear, but will become increasingly more important and will be accompanied by increasing problems of confidentiality, security, and privacy. The obvious problem in EFT systems is the unauthorized use of information by authorized recipients or by organizations holding it. To the extent that existing legislation deals with privacy, it attempts to set norms for proper usage of information.